No need to comment smart ass and that means you and maybe you over there as well. I’ve been house hunting in spurts for the last two years. The house I used to own is back on the market. They just dropped the price by ~$15k. It’s now about $12000 more then when I first bought it. Which was 1997 or 1998. I sold it for $51000 more then I bought it for five years later. Besides, who offers list price anymore?
Am I crazy for thinking about buying my old house again? It’ll be interesting to see my reactions as I go through the house. I could do all the things like update the kitchen, convert the back half of the house into a very large master suite with a huge walk through closet to the bathroom and update the main bathroom that I had planned on doing before I moved to Phoenix. I could do all that and still be in well under what I sold it for. The yard is big, the property is just over a quarter acre. I could put in my gardens and chicken coop. I already know where to stick the water cisterns to capture roof run off. When I get a dog or two in January there would be plenty of room to run around in the yard.
I was figuring out mortgage rates as well. My mortgage would be just over half of what I currently pay for rent. In fact my mortgage would actually be the almost the same as when I lived there. That’s with a 15 year mortgage vs the 5/1 ARM that I had. I could realistically pay it off in < 10 years. My big concerns are the amount of empty houses within a 1.5 mile radius of this house. In Tucson there are empty houses everywhere though.
The crash hasn't hit Tucson as bad as it has hit the Phoenix Valley, which is a top 10 area in the country for foreclosures. I realize that buying now means I'm sitting on a house for at least 10 years before making any serious money on it. The house next door, which was a complete wreck even when I lived next to it, had been foreclosed on and sold for $75,000 for almost 1800 Sq feet. The new owners gutted it and redid it. The neighborhood behind the house has some rental units but lots of older people and some new build in-fills. The neighborhood in front of the house has two of my best friends and their kids, and some other friends in it, plus only a few empty houses.
The best two things are no need to measure any new running loops. I already know how far they all are. If I go over to the KGB's to drink I can just walk home!
Running the numbers everything looks good. Running through the back of my mind are two conversations. The emotional side of me is saying it's probably not going to be a big deal but are you sure about this. I lived there in a different time in my life. The rational and financially prudent side of me is screaming look at the numbers it's almost too good to pass up, actually at that price it is too good for someone to pass up, even if you/they just made it a rental property down the road.
Yes.
Actually, from the financial part, you’re right and you should do it.
For me though, I’m not sure I’d want to go back to a house I’ve owned before. One of the appeals of buying a new house is that it’s new and not something where I’m already familiar with the quirks I hate. 🙂
-Jot
No mention of a spare bedroom? Where do I sleep when I come down for riding?
Jeff has asked a good question. In April when you were here we discussed me eventually taking a road trip out west….do I need to bring a tent and sleep in the middle of the big yard? Does not matter to me…prior experience (USMC) of sleeping in some shit holes. Listen to your common sense and buy the house Stover.
Ummm, as long as you start remodeling it and changing it up seriously. I think you would be ok, but just be honest with yourself Bri.
I am really trying to be good and hold back my SA comments. As you can tell. 😉
And as long as you are remodeling, please put a stripper pole and disco ball in the sspare bedroom with a round bed that spins and you might as well mirror the ceiling while you are at it. Don’t forget the small fridge and a LED LCD that gets every sports channel in the world.
Wow Jeff, you named every single improvement I was going to make in the spare bedroom. I took my remodeling tips straight from your living room!
But yes, you would have your own room so you can finally stop spooning me.